Opening your garage door with your light switch: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Electrical & Lighting]]

This mod will enable you to open your garage door remotely, just like you do in a car. These instructions will allow you to open or close the garage door just by flicking the low beam on (if you're one of those people who always rides with the high beam on). You can also wire it for the high beam, the horn, or an accessory switch. This works well for people who don't want something in their pockets in case of a fall, don't like the look of an opener duct taped to the bars, or often forget to bring their remote with them.

Here is the business end of the mod. It is nothing more than an opener and a 12 volt low amp [[How do relays work?|relay]]. When the light button is pressed down, it closes a circuit between two plates, which triggers the door. A wire is soldered to each plate, and the wires are routed through a relay, which turns on when a 12v current is passed through the incoming wires. These incoming wires are tapped into the low beam in this case.

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[[Image:IMG_0687.jpg|150px]] [[Image:IMG_0694.jpg|150px]]

Note: There have been a few reports of intermittent problems with wire taps. Other methods you may consider are [[Soldering 101|soldering]], [[Installing connectors for your wiring|Molex connectors]], or [[~~I want emergency/hazard flashers~~|crimp or bullet-type]] connectors, such as the ones used for the front signals.

Note: There have been a few reports of intermittent problems with wire taps. Other methods you may consider are [[Soldering 101|soldering]], [[Installing connectors for your wiring|Molex connectors]], or [[Emergency Flashers 1|crimp or bullet-type]] connectors, such as the ones used for the front signals.

Using rather long wires to connect the tapped headlight to the garage door opener enables you to pick and choose the location for the remote.

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[[Image:IMG_0698a.jpg|150px]]

When the low beam is on, the garage door opener is on. This might present a problem, as the battery of the garage door remote may go dead if the low beam is left on for a long period of time.

When the low beam is on, the garage door opener is on. This might present a problem, as the battery of the garage door remote may go dead if the low beam is left on for a long period of time. This may be a good reason to find a circuit other than the lights (such as the horn or a switch) to trigger the opener.

[[Image:IMG_0697.jpg|150px]]

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 [[Category:Electrical & Lighting]]
-This mod will enable you to open your garage door remotely, just like you do in a car. These instructions will allow you to open or close the garage door just by flicking the low beam on (if you're one of those people who always rides with the high beam on). You can also wire it for the  high beam,  the horn, or an accessory switch.  This works well for people who don't want something in their pockets in case of a fall, don't like the look of an opener duct taped to the bars, or often forget to bring their remote with them.
+This mod will enable you to open your garage door remotely, just like you do in a car. These instructions will allow you to open or close the garage door just by flicking the low beam on (if you're one of those people who always rides with the high beam on). You can also wire it for the high beam, the horn, or an accessory switch.  This works well for people who don't want something in their pockets in case of a fall, don't like the look of an opener duct taped to the bars, or often forget to bring their remote with them.
 Here is the business end of the mod. It is nothing more than an opener and a 12 volt low amp [[How do relays work?|relay]]. When the light button is pressed down, it closes a circuit between two plates, which triggers the door. A wire is soldered to each plate, and the wires are routed through a relay, which turns on when a 12v current is passed through the incoming wires. These incoming wires are tapped into the low beam in this case.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 [[Image:IMG_0687.jpg|150px]]  [[Image:IMG_0694.jpg|150px]]
-Note: There have been a few reports of intermittent problems with wire taps. Other methods you may consider are [[Soldering 101|soldering]], [[Installing connectors for your wiring|Molex connectors]], or [[I want emergency/hazard flashers|crimp or bullet-type]] connectors, such as the ones used for the front signals.
+Note: There have been a few reports of intermittent problems with wire taps. Other methods you may consider are [[Soldering 101|soldering]], [[Installing connectors for your wiring|Molex connectors]], or [[Emergency Flashers 1|crimp or bullet-type]] connectors, such as the ones used for the front signals.
 Using rather long wires to connect the tapped headlight to the garage door opener enables you to pick and choose the location for the remote.
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 [[Image:IMG_0698a.jpg|150px]]
-When the low beam is on, the garage door opener is on. This might present a problem, as the battery of the garage door remote may go dead if the low beam is left on for a long period of time.
+When the low beam is on, the garage door opener is on. This might present a problem, as the battery of the garage door remote may go dead if the low beam is left on for a long period of time. This may be a good reason to find a circuit other than the lights (such as the horn or a switch) to trigger the opener.
 [[Image:IMG_0697.jpg|150px]]